


Quicksand

by deird1



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, season: b4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-15
Updated: 2009-11-15
Packaged: 2017-10-02 23:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deird1/pseuds/deird1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley's not sure of anything anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quicksand

**Quicksand**

_Once upon a time, there was a girl.  
She was not an ordinary girl: she had strength, and speed, and great skill. And they watched and wondered, and they called her the Slayer._

Fact: the Slayer does not exist.

_She was born out of great magics, and appointed the protector of all people._

Fact: magic does not exist.  
And those people? They didn't exist either.

_She was a hunter, a killer of vampires,_

Vampires do exist.

_chosen to stop the spread of their evil and bring freedom to the land._

This land is the property of the United States of America.

_As each Slayer died, a new Slayer was called._

Fact: you will not die. Because you are an American. And your country protects its citizens.

_One day, the Slayer was called to a centre of mystical energy, where great forces were unleashed._

Fact: this region contains a higher number of Hostile Sub-Terrestrials per square mile than any other location we are monitoring.

_And she fought, and died, and fought yet again, thwarting fate, prophecy, and the plans of evil men._

We have a state-of-the-art facility, containing many specially trained field agents. We are really cool.

_And she fell in love,_

We have kick-ass weapons, too.

_with a vampire._

They are animals.

_A vampire who had been cursed with a soul,_

Vampires are just animals.

_and was doomed to spend eternity regretting all the evil he had done._

Fact: there is good. And there is evil.

_Eventually, the Slayer was forced to kill him, despite their love._

Fact: vampires must be eliminated. They are evil.

_It was a great tragedy._

We are the United States Government. We are good.

_And now, she is alone once again. She has no Watcher, no lover, and very little future. But she fights, and dreams, and asks many questions about the great mysteries of our world:_

Fact: there are no mysteries. You should always follow orders - that's the right thing to do.  
And please save all questions until the end.

_Can a Slayer have friends?_

The Slayer does not exist.

_Can someone evil become good?_

Evil must be eliminated or controlled.

_Is an alliance with a vampire a good idea?_

Vampires are animals.

_Should you really be doing that spell?_

Spells do not exist.

_Does killing people change you?_

Look at all our awesome weapons.

_And, did she kill Professor Walsh? Or did the professor try to kill her?_

I… don't know…

_Funny, that.  
Or maybe just pathetic._

You thought you knew - what was true. What was real. You had it all worked out.  
And then came the girl, the day, the death, the HST hiding in plain sight, the questions, and suddenly reality is all mixed up with stories, and the truth might just be lies after all.  
You don't know.  
You really don't know anymore.  
And all you can do is clutch this scarf, this piece of the girl who loves you, and hope that in the morning there will be answers…


End file.
